DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Specification
ABSTRACT - Applicant is reminded of the proper language and format for an abstract of the disclosure.
The abstract should be in narrative form and generally limited to a single paragraph on a separate sheet within the range of 50 to 150 words in length. The abstract should describe the disclosure sufficiently to assist readers in deciding whether there is a need for consulting the full patent text for details.
The language should be clear and concise and should not repeat information given in the title. It should avoid using phrases which can be implied, such as, “The disclosure concerns,” “The disclosure defined by this invention,” “The disclosure describes,” etc. In addition, the form and legal phraseology often used in patent claims, such as “means” and “said,” should be avoided.
The abstract of the disclosure is objected to because it merely consists of a single run-on sentence without regard for proper grammatical form. Correction is required. See MPEP § 608.01(b).
TITLE - The title of the invention is not descriptive. A new title is required that is clearly indicative of the invention to which the claims are directed.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
This application currently names joint inventors. In considering patentability of the claims the examiner presumes that the subject matter of the various claims was commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the claimed invention(s) absent any evidence to the contrary. Applicant is advised of the obligation under 37 CFR 1.56 to point out the inventor and effective filing dates of each claim that was not commonly owned as of the effective filing date of the later invention in order for the examiner to consider the applicability of 35 U.S.C. 102(b)(2)(C) for any potential 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(2) prior art against the later invention.
Claim(s) 1-4 and 8-11 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0294264 to Yamada et al. in view of US 20190310572 to Nakao.
Regarding claim 1, Yamada teaches a fixing device (100, Fig.2) comprising: a conveyance section (60) that conveys a recording medium (P); a heating roll (130) that rotates and heats the recording medium being conveyed by the conveyance section; a pressure roll (140) that is disposed to face the heating roll and rotates, around which at least a portion of the recording medium being conveyed is wound, and that pressurizes the wound portion of the recording medium toward the heating roll; a gripping section (76, Fig.8) that is disposed in the conveyance section, grips a leading end of the recording medium being conveyed, and releases the gripping of the leading end of the recording medium when the recording medium passes through a facing position where the pressure roll and the heating roll face each other (Fig.9).
Yamada does not teach a blowing section as claimed.
Nakao discloses a fixing device 280 including a heat-fixing roller 281, a pressure fixing roller 282, and a fan 123 that causes a cooling airflow at a lower side in a direction of rotation of the pressure roller (see Fig.8A, [0044]).
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the fixing device or Yamada to further include
a blowing section that blows air in a direction different from a direction toward the recording medium released from being gripped by the gripping section to cool the pressure roll, for at least the purpose of enabling airflow circulation paths that reduce an amount of ultrafine particles scattered outside the apparatus housing 1.
The combination above further renders obvious
(claim 2) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure roll faces the heating roll from a lower side of the heating roll, and the blowing section blows air to a portion of the pressure roll that is on a lower side with respect to a center of rotation of the pressure roll.
(claim 3) The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein the blowing section blows air to the pressure roll such that the air flows in a rotation direction of the pressure roll.
(claim 4) The fixing device according to claim 3, wherein the blowing section blows air in a downward direction with respect to a horizontal direction.
(claim 8) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 1 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
(claim 9) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 2 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
(claim 10) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 3 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
(claim 11) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 4 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
Claim(s) 1, 2, 5-9, and 12-14 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over US 2021/0294264 to Yamada et al. in view of JP 2011-123293 to Sasaki et al.
Regarding claim 1, Yamada teaches a fixing device (100, Fig.2) comprising: a conveyance section (60) that conveys a recording medium (P); a heating roll (130) that rotates and heats the recording medium being conveyed by the conveyance section; a pressure roll (140) that is disposed to face the heating roll and rotates, around which at least a portion of the recording medium being conveyed is wound, and that pressurizes the wound portion of the recording medium toward the heating roll; a gripping section (76, Fig.8) that is disposed in the conveyance section, grips a leading end of the recording medium being conveyed, and releases the gripping of the leading end of the recording medium when the recording medium passes through a facing position where the pressure roll and the heating roll face each other (Fig.9).
Yamada does not teach a blowing section as claimed.
Sasaki teaches an image forming apparatus and fixing device. Cooling air is blown to the surface portion of a pressure roll 58 by a fan 150 and driving of the fan is controlled by a control unit according to a detected temperature of the surface portion so the temperature of the surface portion of the pressure roll is within a predetermined range.
It would have been obvious to a person of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to modify the fixing device or Yamada to further include
a blowing section that blows air in a direction different from a direction toward the recording medium released from being gripped by the gripping section to cool the pressure roll, for at least the purpose of improved temperature control in the fixing device.
The combination above further renders obvious:
(claim 2) The fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure roll faces the heating roll from a lower side of the heating roll, and the blowing section blows air to a portion of the pressure roll that is on a lower side with respect to a center of rotation of the pressure roll (see Sasaki: Fig.3).
(claim 5) The fixing device according to claim 2, comprising: a suppressing member (Sasaki: 156 or 140; [0068]) that is disposed downstream of the facing position and upstream side of a portion of the pressure roll to which air is blown by the blowing section in a rotation direction of the pressure roll, and that suppresses a flow of the air blown to the pressure roll by the blowing section along an outer peripheral surface of the pressure roll to a portion of the recording medium that has passed through the facing position.
(claim 6) The fixing device according to claim 2, wherein a recessed storage portion (Yamada: 140a) in which the gripping section is stored is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the pressure roll, and the fixing device comprises a formation member (Sasaki: 152) that is disposed downstream of the facing position and upstream of a portion of the pressure roll to which air is blown by the blowing section in a rotation direction of the pressure roll, and in which a facing portion (e.g. Sasaki: 154) facing the storage portion that rotates is formed.
(claim 7) The fixing device according to claim 6, wherein when the formation member is viewed from an outer side in a radial direction of the pressure roll in a state where the facing portion faces the storage portion, the facing portion entirely covers the storage portion. (Yamada:Fig.9 shows the relative size of the recessed storage portion to the fixing nip length. In view of Sasaki: Fig.3, showing the formation member covering a peripheral length larger than a fixing nip length, these features are met by the combination.)
(claim 8) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 1 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
(claim 9) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 2 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
(claim 12) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 5 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
(claim 13) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 6 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
(claim 14) An image forming apparatus comprising: a transfer section that transfers a toner image onto a recording medium; and the fixing device according to claim 7 that fixes, to the recording medium, the toner image transferred onto the recording medium.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. JP 2013-148670 discloses a configuration to blow a rotating body to be cooled, while accurately measuring a temperature of the rotating body.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to ARLENE HEREDIA whose telephone number is (571)272-8393. The examiner can normally be reached M-F: 9:30-5:30.
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If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, Stephanie Bloss can be reached at (571) 272-3555. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
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/Arlene Heredia Ocasio/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2852
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